


An Unpleasant Encounter

by CoffeeFueledAuthor



Category: Super Mario & Related Fandoms
Genre: Gen, bizarre strategies, surprise attack, weird little short story I have yet to finish
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-30
Updated: 2018-07-29
Packaged: 2019-06-18 13:09:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15486477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CoffeeFueledAuthor/pseuds/CoffeeFueledAuthor
Summary: While walking home one morning, Mario finds himself ambushed by some familiar fiends. What should have been a normal day turned into an experience Mario would not soon forget.





	An Unpleasant Encounter

**Author's Note:**

> Started this a while back, meant to finish it, meant to POST it, but never got around to it haha. But here it is now! If ya like it, I'll definitely take the time to finish it! It would most likely be a two shot or something else pretty short, though. If you're looking for a longer adventure, check out the story Infected.

It was a gorgeous summer day in the mushroom kingdom. The sky above shone as an uninterrupted sprawl of a brilliant, striking blue, without a single cloud to blemish its flawless color. Birds of every kind sang in a chorus of majestic melodies from atop the luscious, emerald decorated branches of the wide array of native trees, and the insects buzzed an echoed harmony in response. Across the vast fields bloomed beautiful flowers in all the colors of the rainbow, some even emitting a sparkling aura from the elemental power they contained within. The pleasant breeze carried with it the aroma of pollen and fresh running river water, with just a gentle breath of nectar acting as a sweet accent. The day seemed so pristine and pure.   
Stepping gingerly out of the nearby building, Mario breathed a contented sigh. He had no reason to believe a day as beautiful as this would be anything other than perfect. Mario lived for these calm, peaceful days. His life always seemed so chaotic and stressful; with a hundred different people relying on him for their safety. It was nice to have a break in the nonsense, a day that Mario could enjoy worry free. The occasional breather was something he had come to sincerely appreciate, and he savored every second of these glorious days. 

 

Rejuvenated by the warm rays of sunlight and the fresh breath of air, Mario started down the stony path that lead away from the vibrant toad town he had spent his morning in. His errands completed for the day, he was eager to navigate the path through the rolling fields and parks to his humble, cozy abode nestled in a quiet corner of the Kingdom. Then he would truly have the perfect chance to relax.   
But fate had other plans for the iconic hero of the land. What he thought would be his quiet day to relax was about to be anything but.   
Lurking part way down the path, in the shadows between a cluster of trees, were the physical embodiment’s of discord and disarray. With a collective total of 14 glimmering eyes locked on to their unsuspecting target, the gaggle of miscreants snickered in anticipation. Though they had failed many times in the past, they were certain that his new plan of attack was too simple to do anything but succeed. With the oblivious plumber approaching fast, the posse readied themselves to strike.   
Mario had just begun cheerfully humming to himself when he passed by the clutch of hearty foliage. Suddenly, as though he had triggered an invisible trip wire, the seven reptilian creatures burst from the shadows with a maniacal laughter. Startled and utterly confused, Mario whipped around just as a flurry of clawed hands gripped him from all sides. Before he could even manage to voice a protest, the combined strength of the foes pushed his form backwards, causing him to blindly stumble spine first onto a nearby picnic table in the park. The brutes dragged his body further onto the surface, until his legs no longer contacted the ground below.   
“Well, lookie what we have here!” A crazed voice hollered from the mass of spikes and claws.   
“It’s everyone’s favorite drain-plug, Mario!” Another added with a sneer.   
As the figures regrouped and re-positioned themselves around him, Mario quickly realized the identities of his attackers. He had raided the many castles of the seven colorful hoodlums several times in the past. So often were there meetings that he knew each individual by name. But after besting them in every battle, Mario had come to see the minions as nothing more than a nuisance rather than a threat. Now, as four took their place and each secured one of Mario’s appendages to the wooden surface beneath him, the hero realized he was completely at their mercy. He struggled, thrashing as best he could in an attempt to escape. But with the four largest and bulkiest members holding him down, he was barely able to shift at all. And when a fifth position himself by Mario’s feet and held the plumbers chest down as well, he knew his chances of surviving were slim.   
“Let-!! Let go of me, you Koopa-Brats!!” Mario spat in fury, attempting to hide the fear that was beginning to consume him. “You can’t do this to me!! Whatever plans Bowser’s got… I’ll take no part in them!!”   
From the top of his vision, one of the familiar fanged faces appeared upside down over Mario’s face. His huge swoop of cerulean hair nearly reached to Mario’s chest. His icy blue eyes locked onto the hero’s, and he cackled a mocking laughter through his sharp teeth.   
“Bowser who?” Larry hissed, receiving a chorus of snickering from the other 6 koopalings. “Bowser’s got nothing to do with this, plumber. We’re working pro bono today. Struggle all you want, but we arent letting ya go until we’ve had our fun.”  
Mario fought harder against his captors, still to no avail. “And what fun are you planning on having!?” He growled. “Are you gonna capture me? Put me in a cage? Hold me prisoner?”  
Larry threw his head back and laughed at the hero’s suggestion. “Oh, come on, man. Give us a little credit.” He turned back to Mario and smirked. “We know we cant keep you restrained for longer than a minute. This will be over in a matter of seconds. Now hold still!!”   
Just as Larry finished his sentence, the crooked eyed Lemmy appeared beside him in Mario’s vision. With a snickering chuckle, the smallest of the koopalings lifted his hand, revealing a small device clutched tightly in his claws. Mario instantaneously caught the shine of a sharp blade. Horrified, he began to thrash wildly in a last ditch effort to escape, rapidly turning his head from side to side to protect his face from the weapon. But Larry was quick to restrain him, grabbing his head firmly and forcing him to face straight forward.  
When the motorized buzzing of a blade in motion rose from the device, Mario entered a panicked frenzy.   
The hero began shouting in incoherent sentences, using every last muscle in his body to try and wrestle free. All around him, the seven koopalings began their insane, mocking laughter, accented by the intimidating snarl of the electronic blade. Mario continued to struggle, clenching his eyes shut, screaming, feeling the adrenaline begin to power his body in fear. Another clawed hand slammed against his jaw, forcing it shut, and the buzzing and laughing grew louder and louder. Mario could feel something striking his face, he could hear something meeting the fury of the sharpened metal. But in his panicked flailing, he couldn’t tell where it was that he was being slashed. Agonizing seconds of torture ticked by, and Mario finally began to feel his growing strength start to overpower his captors. Each horrible sound of the device caused his terror to build. Without thinking, his hands began to rapidly increase in temperature, his instincts to escape channeling the powers he held deep within.   
All at once, two huge flames burst from Mario’s palms, scorching the bellies of the two beasts positioned at his arms.   
“Ah! Dang it!!” Roy hollered, leaping back from the heat, releasing the flame powered plumber. “That really stings!! I can’t keep a grip on him when he’s blasting fire everywhere!!”  
“He’s getting loose!!” Ludwig struggled to keep Mario’s ankle in check. “We cant hold on!! Move your shell, Lemmy!!”  
“It’s done!!!” Lemmy screamed, the buzzing in his hand finally ceasing.   
“That’s it!! Let’s go!!” Larry commanded.   
Just as Mario was about to burst from their grip, the seven snickering creatures abruptly released their fiery prisoner. Before he could react, the group had completely scattered, disappearing into the landscape amid their cackling laughter, leaving the terrified hero free but absolutely baffled.   
Mario sat up, breathing in heavy pants, the fire in his hands slowly dying down into nothing but smoke. Everything had happened so fast, he had hardly been able to process what was going on at all. He turned his head down and looked to his hands, waiting for blood to drip from whatever wounds they had sliced in his face. But to his surprise, his flesh remained intact. Not a speck of his blood had been spilled.   
Mario, still attempting to control his frantic breathing, lifted his gaze to the sky above. It didn’t make sense. The koopalings HAD him. He was at their mercy. Why, then, had they let him go without a scratch? He couldn’t figure it out.   
When his breathing had finally calmed, and it had become apparent that the koopalings were long gone, Mario finally worked his way towards the egde of the table and hopped off. He slowly shambled back to the path he had been ambushed on, trying to find his bearings and remember what he had been doing before the sudden and highly confusing interruption.   
But as the gentle breeze picked up again, Mario noticed something odd. Something… felt off. It was as though a numbed area of flesh suddenly regained all feeling. It felt like his face was experiencing the caress of the wind for the very first time. And it was surprisingly cold…  
Mario brought a hand to his face.  
It was only then that it dawned on him.   
No… It couldn’t be… They wouldn’t have…  
Scrambling into a frantic sprint, Mario flew across the field at warp speed. Reflection! He needed to see his reflection!! He screeched to a halt at the nearby riverbank, throwing himself onto his knees and anxiously scanning the waters surface and the image of his face upon it.   
It was true. They had really done it. They had taken away what was arguably Mario’s most iconic feature. The blade was that of a razor. They had shaved him.   
Mario’s entire mind froze, unable to process this unbelievable situation. With his eyes firmly locked onto his reflection, he brought a quivering hand up to gently prod at the sensitive exposed skin above his lips, as if somehow hoping his reflection was lying to him. All that remained of his famed facial hair were a few stray hairs here and there that the razor had missed. His eyes also found that something black now adorned his watery doppelgangers red shirt. Peering down at his chest, he realized it was tufts of his own jet black hair littering his front.   
A normal man wouldn’t have cared so much about this odd predicament. After all, he knew full well that the hair would grow back. But it was different for Mario. People had come to recognize his face, nay, his entire SELF by his unique, perfectly uneven mustache. Without it, it was almost like he was a stranger. Besides; Mario had grown the hair long ago for good reason. He had always been self conscious of his round, chubby face. The mustache had done an excellent job of hiding this imperfection. Now that it was gone, Mario was convinced he looked more like a husky child than a famous hero.   
Mario raised his knees from the muddy banks and turned away from the water. His reflection had begun to make him feel ill, and he could no longer tolerate looking at it. He had no choice but to go into hiding for the next month or so. At least until something could grow back. Because the thought of the kingdom residents reactions to his shocking new appearance was more than he could bear.   
But he was still so far from home. And getting there required cutting through a modestly populated toad village. How would he make it back without attracting unwanted attention? Mario shivered at the thought. He would just have do this as quickly as possible.   
And after all was said and done, he would be sure to make those koopa cretins pay.


End file.
